420 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Sept. 9, 1911. 
are loud enough to be heard hundreds of yards 
away, resembling at that distance the noise of 
escaping steam. So strange are the sounds 
and so unusual that few people who have heard 
them have refrained from investigating the 
trees whence they come or inquiring from 
passersby as to the meaning of the tumult. 
Purple martins are responsible—purple 
martins by the hundreds which resort to the 
oaks on South Battery at about sunset to spend 
the night. How many of the birds are present 
would be difficult to estimate, but some have 
calculated that the flock contains at least a 
thousand individuals. They completely fill five 
or six of the large and widespreading trees, and 
,after they have gone to roost and are prepar¬ 
ing to go to sleep the noise that they make is 
like that of a feathered army. 
The birds seem to gather in the live oaks 
shortly before dusk. Prior to that time they 
may be seen in large numbers sweeping and 
swerving over the waters of the Ashley River 
and the harbor, sometimes flying high in the 
air and uttering their musical bell-like notes, 
sometimes gliding swiftly along close above the 
water. At times they stop to rest on the rig¬ 
ging of vessels anchored in the stream. One 
afternoon last week pedestrians on East Battery 
were interested in the sight of a schooner lying 
at anchor some hundreds of yards off the sea 
wall and with almost all her ropes black with 
martins perching upon them. 
South Battery has for many years been a 
favorite resort for martins, but not in a long 
time have they frequented the place in such 
large numbers as at present. They have finished 
breeding by this time and their young are well 
grown and able to take care of themselves, the 
birds being now congregated in the great flocks 
which always form before the southward migra¬ 
tion in the autumn begins. Arthur T. Wayne, 
of Mount Pleasant, the well known ornitholo¬ 
gist, records that in former years thousands of 
these birds resorted to the beautiful grounds 
of D. C. Ebaugh, in the northern part of the 
city, where a cigar factory now stands, their 
numbers being so great that limbs were actually 
broken from the trees. 
The purple martin, which is the largest and 
best known of the swallow tribe, is one of the 
most useful as well as the most beautiful of 
native birds. It subsists entirely on insects, 
which it destroys by the million. Thousands of 
the birds perished during the great blizzard of 
February, 1889, and again in April, 1907, and 
the fact that they are again abundant in this 
region means the saving of much money to 
the farmers, who benefit greatly by the inroads 
which the birds make on the insect tribes. 
Pigeons Reported From Kentucky. 
Bowling Green, Ky., Aug. 31 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: In last week's issue of Forest and 
Stream someone from near Akron, Ohio, 
reported observing some passenger pigeons. On 
Aug. 23 R. K. Mitchell, who resides about three 
miles from Bowling Green, reported in said city 
that on the morning of said day near his home 
he had observed nine passenger pigeons. He 
said that they came within ninety feet of him 
while on the wing and he had a good oppor¬ 
tunity to see them; that he also saw them sit¬ 
ting in a dead tree at some distance. 
Mr. Mitchell is an intelligent and reliable man, 
an accurate observer and a good sportsman. He 
is familiar with the passenger pigeon, having 
seen a number and killed a few when a boy. 
Passenger pigeons formerly visited this section 
in autumn in unnumbered thousands. The 
flights grew gradually less and less, with the 
numbers of each flock continually diminishing 
until about 1880, when they practically ceased. 
After that only an occasional pigeon was seen, 
generally with doves, until about 1889, when the 
last one that we know of being seen in this 
county was killed in a flock of doves, but there 
is no mistake about it being a pigeon. The dis¬ 
covery here, following the discovery at Akron, 
Ohio, leads us to think that they were possibly 
the same pigeons. Considering its power of 
flight and the distance it could cover in its 
travels, it is hardly probable that the passenger 
pigeon is absolutely extinct. 
Thos. W. Thomas. 
Manatee for Aquarium. 
It is reported that a manatee was recently 
taken by fishermen in Laguna Bay, near Galves¬ 
ton, Tex., and that it will be exhibited at the 
Cotton Carnival in Galveston and afterward 
shipped to the New York Aquarium. It is said 
to be a fine specimen and that the men who 
captured it sold it for a good price. 
New Publications. 
Forest Life and Sport in India, by Sainthill 
Eardley-Wilmot. Cloth, 324 pages, illus¬ 
trated, $3.50 net. New York, Longmans, 
Green & Co. 
It was while he was inspector-general of 
forests for the Indian Government that the au¬ 
thor collected the data which he has drawn on 
in the making of this useful book. Interest in 
forestry, he says, has long been existent in 
Europe, it has resulted in much good work in 
America, and is a growing force in Great Britain, 
but in India forestry is still in the beginning. 
There afforestation does not mean the creation 
of forests. It implies rather that a certain area 
has been set apart for the practice of forestry, 
and the inference is, not that this area is to be 
sown or planted by artificial means, but that 
nature will be aided in her work of covering 
the soil with woody growth, and of ultimately 
yielding a harvest for the use of man. Such, 
indeed, says the author, are the present condi¬ 
tions in which forestry is practiced in India. 
What the future may bring forth it is impos¬ 
sible to predict, but it is quite probable that it 
may be found later on necessary, and even re¬ 
munerative, to stock the waste places of the 
earth artificially with tree growth in order either 
to protect the water supply or to supply timber 
and fuel to a growing population. 
Llis notes on the fauna of India are fully 
as interesting as those devoted to forestry. In 
one place he comments on the treatment by tame 
elephants of the captive calves. The patient 
beasts, he says, take kindly to these waifs, and 
if they are old enough to browse, look after 
them carefully. Of the dangers incident to hunt¬ 
ing Indian elephants he shows a keen apprecia¬ 
tion, and records one instance, in which a bull 
got away with three of the old-time steel-cap¬ 
ped bullets behind the shoulder and four more 
in its head. It was found a couple of days later 
eating bamboo. It had stopped the flow of blood 
from its wounds with wet clay. No animal, in 
Mr. Wilmot’s opinion, is so useless in the wild 
state, and so indispensable in captivity, as the 
elephant. Without his help the supply of teak 
timber to the world would almost cease. He it 
is who drags the logs to the floating streams in 
readiness for the next flood; who guides them 
in their passage to the main river, releasing jams 
at the peril of his life; who receives them on 
arrival at depot and lays” them in order for the 
sawmill, and builds up the stacks of squares 
awaiting dispatch to Europe, finally, when the 
train arrives, placing them on the trolleys for 
shipment; for he has the strength of a machine, 
and is not confined to the interminable repetition 
of a single series of actions. 
A Gamekeeper’s Notebook, by Owen Jones and 
Marcus Woodward. Cloth, 307 pages, illus¬ 
trated, $2.10 net. New York, Longmans, 
Green & Co. 
The position of a gamekeeper in England is 
a curious one, say the authors. Admittedly he 
is among the most skilled and highly trained 
workers of the countryside. His intimate knowl¬ 
edge of wild life commands respect. Often he 
is much more than a careful and successful pre¬ 
server of game—a thoroughly good sportsman, 
a fine shot. His work carries heavy responsi¬ 
bility; as whether a large expenditure on a 
shooting property brings good returns—and on 
him depends the pleasure of many a sporting 
party. On large estates he is an important per¬ 
sonage—important to the estate owner, to the 
hunt, to the farm bailiff, and to a host of satel¬ 
lites. His value is proved by the many import¬ 
ant side issues of his work—dog breeding and 
dog breaking, or the breaking of young gentle¬ 
men to gun work. Yet, in spite of the honor¬ 
able and onerous nature of his calling, he is paid 
in cash about the same wage as a ploughman. 
That the gamekeeper has abundant opportunity 
for observation is proved by the authors, who 
have put their thoughts down in the form of a 
series of short notes, each complete in itself, 
and valuable contributions to the natural history 
of the shooting country. Many are whimsical, 
all are interesting, not a few humorous. Here 
is a sample from one of them: 
‘‘One usually sees a pretty assortment of pets 
about the keeper’s cottage, where there are chil¬ 
dren. The keeper himself is not above a pet 
animal, though he may not confess it—and 
strange to say, the keeper’s favorite is often a 
cat. But you may be sure it is a cat among 
cats, and without sin—an expert among rats, 
mice and sparrows, yet able to sit for hours on 
the hole of a rabbit or alone with a canary, and 
not yield to temptation. * * * In the yard is a 
retriever who is always careful to offer you her 
right paw in greeting, loves blackberries and is 
the special friend of a little terrier. 
The Young Guide, by Clarence B. Burleigh. 
Cloth, 359 pages, $1.50. Boston, Lothrop, 
Lee & Shepard Company. 
This is a story of two boys in the Maine 
woods; of hunting and adventure extraordinary 
that will be read with pleasure by growing boys. 
Plenty of things happen to make the narrative 
lively, and the guides, Indians, bad men and 
woodsmen all play their part in lively fashion. 
